Tool · LLC or C-Corp
LLC or C-Corporation? Three questions will tell you.
Most founders outside the US are best served by an LLC. The main exception is a founder who plans to raise money from US investors. Answer the three questions below to see which one you are.
01Decide
Which company should you form?
Nothing gets ordered here. Change any answer and the reasons update with it.
01Will you raise money from US investors in the next two years?
02Will you grant stock or options to co-founders, employees or advisers?
03If you had to choose, which matters more this year?
The order form asks the same three questions and gives the same answer, then asks you to pick a state. Either way, the choice is yours.
02Why these three
How is an LLC different from a C-Corporation?
An LLC's profit is taxed once. It needs no board or minutes, costs $60 a year to keep in Wyoming, and keeps your name off the public record. That makes it a good fit for a business its customers pay for. What an LLC can't do is issue stock, and stock is what a SAFE turns into and what an option plan hands out. That's why US investors’ documents don't fit it.
A C-Corporation pays tax on its own profit, and you pay tax again on any dividends it pays you. It files a corporate return, and in Delaware it pays $450 a year in franchise tax and the annual report fee. So it's a poor fit for a profitable business that isn't raising, and the right one for a business that is, because term sheets, SAFEs and option plans are written for it. The full comparison has the figures.
Ready when you are
Answer the questions. We do the filing.
It takes about four minutes. You see the whole order, state fee included, before anything is charged.
Compare the plansCompany name
LLC · WYName checked first · Same business day
Start a companyStandard$499 + $102.40 WyomingSame day